China Unicom Contributes to Rural Internet Construction

China United Network Communications Group Co., Ltd. (China Unicom) has been playing its role in supporting China's internet construction in rural areas, helping the country get closer to its goal of rural revitalization.

In the southern part of the Yellow Sea lies a dumbbell-shaped island where there was no mobile internet signal and extremely limited living materials. Its name is Qianliyan Island.

The farthest island from land in the Yellow Sea, Qianliyan Island was isolated from the internet. Even necessities like water and food had to be transported from the mainland.

In the years before 2021, when the island welcomed its first 4G base station, workers at the lighthouse had been entertained by a satellite television.

In response to the problem of a lack of internet, China Unicom cooperated with the Maritime Safety Administration's Northern Navigation Service Center to work on the construction of a communication base station on the island.

A special construction plan was made, using the surrounding architecture instead of the lighthouse as the island's machine room, in order to protect the hundred-year-old tower.

The project was unstoppable, despite a lack of electricity. China Unicom workers transported 45 30-kilogram photovoltaic plates and 120 35-kg lead batteries, as well as galvanized sheets and battery rack steel tanks, onto the island to generate power.

Construction of the first 4G base station on Qianliyan Island was completed before Chinese New Year, giving people in areas as far as 30 kilometers from the station access to 4G internet.

During the Chinese New Year, Yin, an attendant at the lighthouse, was able to make a video call to his family from the island for the first time.

China Unicom workers unload PV plates from the fishing boat onto Qianliyan Island. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

Remote areas are not the only focus of China's rural revitalization goal.

Nestled within towering mountains, the Yaoziyan resettlement area in Central China's Hubei Province had limited internet access. Students there had to climb up to the top of the mountains to receive an internet signal for online education.

To help the children access online lessons, China Unicom decided to build a 4G base station on the 473-meter high mountain top near the resettlement site.

The construction took only three days.

China Unicom workers carry materials for the 4G base station construction to the Yaoziyan resettlement zone in the rain. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

China Unicom also helped some villages improve their broadband coverage, which has boosted the commerce of local agricultural products in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province.

Thanks to improved internet infrastructure, young people working far away from their hometowns are also able to stay in contact with their families easily.

By the end of April 2021, China Unicom had built 55,000 broadband ports in Yuncheng, and 465 3G base stations and 460 4G base stations are now in operation there.

A China Unicom worker installs a base station in a remote village. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

Rural information infrastructure and broadband coverage in rural areas have been improved since China's rural revitalization strategy began.

The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of Revitalization of Rural Areas was passed on April 29. It states that China will improve the telecommunication service compensation system and support information infrastructure construction in rural and remote areas.

China Unicom will continue to fulfill its responsibility and fight for the consolidation of poverty-alleviation achievements and rural revitalization.

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)